The off-season is in full swing, signings are going to be made. Some good and some bad.

Today it was announced that the Detroit Red Wings were going to be bringing back Drew Miller on a one year deal.

This is a pretty bad deal.

 Miller, a veteran in the NHL, is going to bring leadership and some truculence to the team. Does that even matter in today’s NHL? Is Miller even deserving of a contract?

When you hear about Drew Miller, you get a list of intangibles, intangibles are all well and good when they lead to something, well, more tangible. Miller hasn’t had NHL output for a little while now and bringing him back is only going to limit your younger players. Sure, the Red Wings like their prospects to permeate a very long time, at this point though denying them opportunities while giving Miller more money is baffling.

Miller will only be making a shade over a million dollars next year, which doesn’t seem like much considering all of their cap space, but it is more about philosophy then anything else. Out with old, in with the new isn’t a concept the Red Wings are familiar with and it is going to bite them sooner rather than later. These are the types of deals that start piling up, it won’t make a difference as of this moment but will hurt you when you need that flexibility.

It’s a one-year deal, but it  continues to show the lack of foresight certain GM’s can have in today’s game. 

Does Drew Miller really add any value to this club other than “locker room fun guy”? The answer is clearly no. A player doesn’t have to be exclusively bad on the ice to be a locker room presence. 

Why not get yourself a player that can do both?